Question

A 1200 kg car pushes a 1900 kg truck that has a dead battery. when the driver steps on the accelerator, the drive wheels of the car push against the ground with a force of 4000 n . rolling friction can be is the magnitude of the force of the car on the truck?

Answer 1

To find the magnitude of the force exerted by the car on the truck, we need to consider the forces acting on both the car and the truck.

The force exerted by the car on the truck can be found using Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the action is the force exerted by the car on the ground, and the reaction is the force exerted by the ground on the car.

Given:
Mass of the car (m1) = 1200 kg
Mass of the truck (m2) = 1900 kg
Force exerted by the car on the ground (F1) = 4000 N

Using Newton's second law of motion, we can find the acceleration of the car:
F1 = m1 * a1
4000 N = 1200 kg * a1
a1 = 4000 N / 1200 kg
a1 ≈ 3.33 m/s^2

Now, considering the forces acting on the truck:
Force exerted by the ground on the truck (F2) = Force exerted by the car on the truck

Using Newton's second law of motion, we can find the acceleration of the truck:
F2 = m2 * a2
F2 = 1900 kg * a2

Since the car is pushing the truck, the acceleration of the truck (a2) is the same as the acceleration of the car (a1):
a2 = 3.33 m/s^2

Now, we can calculate the force exerted by the car on the truck:
F2 = m2 * a2
F2 = 1900 kg * 3.33 m/s^2
F2 ≈ 6337 N

Therefore, the magnitude of the force exerted by the car on the truck is approximately 6337 N.